


Long nights on the roof

by an_angel_on_earth



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Diego Hargreeves, Drugs, Gender Non-Conforming Klaus Hargreeves, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lesbian Vanya Hargreeves, The Umbrella Academy (TV) Spoilers, Vanya has her powers, gay Klaus Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-30 01:49:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19032274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/an_angel_on_earth/pseuds/an_angel_on_earth
Summary: Vanya, Klaus, and eventually Diego spending their nights up of the roof of the Academy, and how they reconnect after their dad's death. Mostly just focusing on Klaus's life though, and all the shit that goes on there.Something I wrote in one day based on an idea I had. Takes place in an AU where Reginald is still a terrible parent, but doesn't put Vanya through all that shit, so she's always had her powers. Slight trigger warning because it does discuss Ben's death, and I used the theory that he killed himself. It also has drugs because duh, it's Klaus, and he's a junkie who we all love and adore.~*~UNEDITED. FEEL FREE TO CALL ME OUT ON ANY SPELLING MISTAKES OR ANYTHING.~*~





	Long nights on the roof

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in under 24 hours, so it's probably terrible and not well written. Sorry about that, I just had this idea and wanted to get it down so I can show it to the other internet gremlins. I'll probably edit it a lot later on. First TUA fic I've written though, so that's an accomplishment! And as always, hit me up with that validation and that gay shit if you want, I live for it.

Long nights up on the roof were always Klaus's favorite. Whenever he wasn't feeling well, he'd knock three times on Vanya's door, and hope that she was still in bed by the time he snuck out. She'd meet him by the window, and he'd sing softly so that she could focus on the sound, and move the box that they used as an elevator. The ghosts taught him some songs, when they were calm and not screaming his name and trying to lash out. An old Chinese lady would teach him nice melodies in a language he didn't speak, the young Irish man would teach him songs about drinking in a gruff voice while telling Klaus how much he reminded them of themselves.  
Once they were up, the volume would change. Sometimes, it would be quiet, and Klaus wouldn't have to say anything. Vanya was nice in that way. He didn't have to explain his feelings to her. She just let him sit there, and enjoy her company. He needed someone who was actually living, who understood him. But sometimes they would be as loud as they could be without anyone noticing. Talking, singing, playing silly games together. A few times, they even managed to sneak out, and walked until they found a street musician. They'd dance until they stopped playing, or the sun was starting to rise and they had to go back to the Academy.  
Klaus was around ten when he first told Vanya how he really felt. How he was a boy, but sometimes, he didn't want to dress like one. Much to his surprise, Vanya agreed. She confessed that she hated the skirt that she had to wear as a part of their uniform, and that she'd much rather prefer to wear pants. The next night, they brought their clothes to the roof as well, and Klaus danced in a skirt as Vanya ran around in pants. It became common, and they ended up hiding a bag on the roof so they wouldn't have to bring everything with them all the time. It grew, the two of them adding more to it as time passed. One of Vanya's dresses and a feather boa that Klaus stole from Allison, Flannels and button ups and ties that Klaus bought (or possibly stole) for Vanya, and a blanket that he had made himself with the help of the ghost of an elderly Russian woman.  
"I like girls." she had told him during one of their escapades. Klaus had been talking with the ghost of an astronomer, who had been teaching him constellations, but that quickly stopped when Vanya spoke.  
"Oh." he had said, because there wasn't really anything else to say. "That's cool." He could understand why Vanya liked girls. They were pretty, and nice, and usually treated him far better than their father. He didn't know if he really liked them, though. Everything in his life had been telling him that he'd fall in love with a girl someday, if he lived past his teens, if he didn't get killed trying to be a hero.  
It was silent for a little bit after that. Then, he spoke again, a little bit softer than usual. "If girls can like girls, can boys like boys?"  
Vanya had laughed, and for a second he worried he had said the wrong thing. "Of course! Klaus, do you like boys?"  
He thought about it for a second. "I'm not sure."

Sometime between Klaus realizing that he was gay and starting to do drugs, Diego joined their talks. At first, it was awkward, Klaus had been used to it being just Vanya, to listen to him and comfort him, and he knew how to comfort her when she was sad. A third person being there just made everything a lot more awkward. But Diego was kind, even if Klaus thought he was a little weird. He told Klaus about how he was bisexual, how he liked girls and guys. He stuttered a bit while he talked, but they never made fun of him for it. When he started getting better, they celebrated, smuggling up a cupcake so that they could share. Frosting ended up in their hair, not that they minded in the slightest.  
He didn't know when exactly he started turning to drugs. It was just one day, when Reginald locked him in the mausoleum. The ghosts wouldn't stop, they were angrier now then ever. They wouldn't leave him alone. That night, he snuck out, leaving Vanya and Diego back at the Academy. He took whatever money he had, and the rest of his memories of the night are blurry. He just remembers the two others staring at him as he came too on the roof, the bag of pills thankfully safely stored in his pocket.  
"What the hell, Klaus!" Diego had yelled at him, shaking him slightly by the shoulders. He didn't have an answer. How could he possibly hope to explain that dead people talked to him, and wouldn't leave him alone, and that at least they would shut up if he was high. He stayed silent while Diego ranted, the words he was saying not fully registering. Something about how he wouldn't tell their father, but he shouldn't do it again, blah blah blah. His mind was numb, but he liked it better than before.  
As soon as he was back in his room, he took another pill, fishing it out of the bag and chugging a cup of water with it.

Life happens. And for them, life wasn't exactly the happiest. Ben died, and Klaus faked his tears. He was high for the funeral. But even through the drugs, Ben's ghost stayed with him. He hated it. At least when they were alive, Klaus could stay away from him. Now that he was dead, the two of them couldn't leave each other. It pissed both of them off at the beginning.  
For a few nights, the three of them didn't say a word as they spent the nights on the roof. They didn't need to, they didn't want to. Klaus didn't tell them how he could still see Ben, how he could talk to him. That Ben took his own life, how he couldn't bear having to kill people all because their father thought he could make them heroes, how when Klaus saw the inscription on the tomb he wanted to destroy it, because the darkness in Ben couldn't find peace in the light. As far as they knew, there was no light.  
He wasn't exactly grieving in the same way Vanya and Diego were. He didn't feel sad, or anything at all, really. They knew that he spent the days in a medicated haze, and thankfully, they didn't try to stop him. Diego had given up on lecturing him. Buying drugs had become sort of a ritual for him, a ceremony, a sacrifice of his mind and control in exchange for the numbness and an end to the pain. Ben watched him, not remarking on it, much to Klaus's delight.  
When Five disappeared, the grief was different. It was just sort of a fact of life now. They had already lost one of their siblings. What was one more? Still heart breaking, and terrible, but at least they knew that nothing would change must. Reginald was still a jerk even after Ben died. Vanya had cried, Klaus left slip a few tears, and Diego had wrapped them in Klaus's blanket.  
Vanya was the first to leave the Academy. Well, officially leave, still living when they ran off. He read the book she had written. About how they were trained, how they never got a chance to have a normal childhood. She wrote about how she realized she was attracted to girls, and lied about how she kept it to herself. She didn't tell anything about the secrets Klaus or Diego kept. She went to college, started teaching others the violin.  
There were fewer nights on the roof after she left. And if it was just him and Diego, they weren't as fun. Then Diego left, and Klaus was the only one in their group left. He turned to drugs more, spending his time out of his mind. He didn't care who saw anymore. In the nights, he'd still sneak out to the roof, and sometimes he'd catch himself knocking on Vanya's door as a habit. Even when high, it was still ingrained in his mind.  
Allison was third to leave. Klaus raided her closet once they were certain she wasn't coming back. She was headed for Hollywood, where she could use her power to become famous and rich, and not to make bad guys hurt each other. After her, it was just him and Luther, so he bailed soon after she did. At that point, he knew that everyone else knew he was doing drugs. He drank, he smoked, and the cameras captured all of it. He just couldn't believe he hadn't realized they were being watched all the time earlier.  
At times, he wondered why no one stepped in. He’d end up dead before long if he kept it up. But then again, their “father”, if you could even call them that, was always wanting to study them. They weren’t his children, they were his test subjects. No doubt he wanted to see how this abuse would affect Klaus. Same as any other person, he figured. It just made the dead people leave him alone.   
In all honesty, it was a miracle that he didn’t die earlier. He was a gay addict who mostly lived on the streets. Occasionally he’d crash at the Academy, although most of the time that consisted of him waking up there with no memory of how he got there. Sometimes Luther would be there, watching him like he was a stranger. Or worse, an animal, skittish and locked up in a cage for other’s entertainment. At least the two of them didn’t fight much. He got out of the house as quick as possible. And when fights occurred out on the streets, he typically had much more training than whoever he was up against. Even when wasted, he could still hold his own.  
Reginald’s death didn’t exactly come as a shock. Nonetheless, he returned “home”, as high as he could get while still having enough sense to manage to get around and interact with others. He didn’t really have much of a plan. Steal some shit to pawn off for cash, get the hell out of there as soon as possible.   
Seeing everyone else was... kind of odd, if he was being honest. He hadn’t spoken to Allison in a while, but he saw pictures of her in the news, articles about interviews about whatever movie or TV show she was starring in. Her husband wasn’t really anything special, though. Diego had been checking in on him every so often, seeking him out around holidays. Making sure that his brother was doing okay. He almost felt bad for all of the times he had nearly overdosed and died. Almost being the key word.  
But when Vanya arrived, it was like a breath of fresh air, and he hadn’t even realized how much he still missed her. He hugged her, watching her smile as she returned his embrace. She was a warmth he had been lacking for so long. Someone who genuinely cared about him, who understood him.  
The plan didn’t involve seeing Five again, but it happened, because life doesn’t really care about you, Klaus had learned that early on. At first, he was convinced it was just a hallucination. He was too high, he was tripping on whatever he had taken early that morning. Then, the thoughts turned to maybe he was seeing Five’s ghost. Maybe they had finally died, wherever they had ended up after running away. The time couldn’t have been better planned.   
The fact that no, they had just gone forwards in time and then back in it, was slightly concerning. It also involved lots of big words that Klaus didn’t understand. He was content with just drinking this new problem away. But when the topic of conversation changed, he couldn’t just shrug it off. Because if Five was correct, the end of the world was coming. Klaus couldn’t stop himself from thinking that it had taken its sweet time with getting there.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Old habits die hard, and he wasn’t sure what he was doing, only that something was telling him that it’s the right thing to do. Vanya opened the door just a few seconds after, swinging it open just as Klaus was about to knock again.  
“Hey,” she said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, “what’s up?” Did she not remember? Maybe it was all just a waste of time. “Should I get Diego?” Ah, so maybe she did. Klaus shook his head. Maybe later, if they lived. Right now, he needed his comfort, and that was Vanya. Not Diego. He was close, but he couldn’t be the same. “Alright. We don’t have to sneak around, though. You wanna go grab something from the kitchen beforehand?”  
“Y-yeah.” he stuttered through his words, voice shaking and body trembling. Turning back around, he started off down the hallway, going confidently in the wrong direction until Vanya dragged him the right way. Together, they got whatever looked edible. Some left over cake, presumably from Reginald. Who knew the old man actually ate anything sweet? Then, as Vanya stayed to grab plates and napkins and silverware, Klaus started off to the window, prying it open and trying to ignore the awful screeching sound it made.  
She joined him just a few seconds later, having found a small canvas bag to hold everything. “Can... can you sing for me, Klaus? You know, like you used to do.” He hadn’t sung in so long. His voice would be rusty, and Vanya would no doubt love to critique him as if he was one of her violin students. Still, he sang, even though the voices were beginning to come back and everything in him was itching to take some of the pills burning a hole in his pocket.  
“I’m just a step away, I’m just a breath away.” Ben started singing along, even though Vanya couldn’t hear them. “Losing my faith today, falling off the edge today.”  
The crate began to float up, remaining level as it rose. “I need a hero, to save me now. I need a hero, save me now. I need a hero, to save my life. A hero will save me just in time.” It was a song he had heard on the radio a few times. It was pretty catchy, apparently enough so for the lyrics to stick in his memory. The irony in his brain giving him that song above all others didn't go unnoticed by him. Vanya went through the window first, balancing on the edge of the box. Then it was his turn, crawling through the opening and doing his best not to fall.   
He could breathe easier once they were back on stable ground. Not that he didn’t trust Vanya’s abilities, but not having to worry about falling was nice. There wasn’t any need for words, so they didn’t say anything. Vanya held onto his hand, and they laid down, looking up at the sky. Just like old times.  
“Is that a shooting star?” she asked, breaking the silence. Indeed, something was racing through the sky, millions of miles away yet looking like it was just in reach, “Make a wish, Klaus.”  
“Make a wish, Vanya.” he said. Then after a while, “Alright, I’ve got a confession. Let’s make it more like how it used to be.” Standing up, he smiled as he retrieved their bag, which had held up fairly well against the elements. He was shocked at how dry the blanket was. It was a bit small, but that didn’t really mind.  
This is how it would go back when they were kids. They’d say that they had a confession to make, and then one of them would grab the blanket, and they’d all gather together while they talked. “I’m kind of glad that he’s gone.” Klaus said, and Vanya nodded.  
“Same here. Alright, here’s one of mine. I think one of my students likes me. They’re older, don’t worry.” Now this was interesting. Klaus leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.  
“Male or female? Do you like them back?”  
“Unfortunately, they’re a guy. And, yeah, kind of, but as a friend. Like, they might want to be something more, but I don’t want to go there. I just kind of want to hang out with them, you know? They’re the type of person who tells me that I don’t have to apologize for existing. I think that’s why I liked hanging out with you so much. You never put any pressure on me.”  
“Aw, thanks!” The urge to pop a pill was still there, but diminishing. Sure, he’d have to eventually, or he’d go into wicked bad withdrawal. But for now, he didn’t feel the urge as strongly as usual. Maybe his wish was coming true. To finally be normal, for things to go back to the way they were. “Alright, let’s keep this going. Here’s a good one, I still see Ben.”  
“What! Klaus, you can’t just tell me that without any warning! Is he here? Can he see me? How long?”   
“Uh, since he died, actually. Yeah, he can’t really leave me. Brotherly bond or some bullshit like that.” Apparently, he was still high enough to not consider to consequences of his actions. Now Vanya was pestering him for more answers. Although, he couldn't exactly say it bothered him, or that he didn't actually like it.  
They talked until early morning, catching each other up on how they had been doing. Vanya had gotten her own apartment and had had a few girlfriends, but none of them really stayed long, especially once they found out who Vanya was and what her past was like. In exchange, Klaus told her about all of his hookups, the people he had met who were like him. How he did drag once, and got pretty far in a competition.   
Yup, those late nights on the roof were his favorite. If he had the chance, he’d go back in time and change a lot about his life. But never those meetings. They’re what kept him going. Just him, Vanya, Diego, the night sky above them and a city below. A few hours where they weren’t superheroes, they weren’t traumatized young adults, they didn’t have any obligations. Where they were a family.


End file.
